Chapter 95 The Enemy Under My Roof
The hallway lights blurred as I walked away from Cassandra’s hospital room.
I didn’t go back in nor did I confront her.
I wanted to demand answers, but I chose to walk away instead.
The words kept echoing in my ears as I went back to my car.
The pregnancy that made everything difficult for me wasn’t even mine.
My hands trembled as I pushed the door of the hospital’s entrance. I got into my car and drove straight to my mother’s house without thinking.
When I arrived, her car was parked outside.
So… she was home.
I didn’t knock, I just opened the door and stepped into her living room.
Evelyn Hart was sitting on the sofa with a glass of wine, reading a magazine. She looked up, her eyebrows raised in surprise.
“Son?” she muttered, her voice low.
I stood in the doorway, breathing hard.
“I knew you were in town,” I said, quietly.
“I decided to play clueless, but I’m done pretending.”
She set the magazine down slowly on the table and looked up at me again, clearly flustered.
“What are you talking about?”
“The baby Cassandra is carrying isn’t mine,” I uttered firmly.
She froze.
I continued, my voice flat.
“And she’s been working with someone to steal my company. She has been leaking documents, and photographing files. She has been betraying me from the beginning.”
“What! I…”
“You don’t have to say anything,” I cut her off.
“I’m not here for comfort. I’m here because I know you had a hand in this. You pushed her into my life. You wanted the perfect society match so bad that you almost ruined my life. Tell me the truth… did you know?” I said, my voice cold and exhausted.
She stood up, smoothed her dress, and looked into my eyes.
“I’m sorry, son,” she said.
“I promise you I didn’t know about it. When she approached me and claimed to come from a high-class family, I believed her because she carried herself well,” she explained.
“But I recently found out about her background. She’s from a modest suburban family. She has no pedigree, and no connections. She lied to us.”
“No! She lied to you. You pushed her on me,” I countered.
“I didn’t know she was working against you, Alex. I didn’t say anything because of the baby,” she said, her voice cracking softly.
“I’m done… with all of it,” I said curtly and turned to leave.
I didn’t wait for more excuses.
I drove back home silently, my mind strangely clear from the impromptu responsibility.
When I walked through the front door, Cassandra was already back from the hospital. She must have discharged herself.
She was sitting on the couch in the living room, still in the hospital gown under a coat.
She stood up when she saw me.
“Alex… what happened? You left so suddenly…”
“Pack your things,” I said, but my voice came out rough and uneven.
My chest was tight and my fingers folded into a fist by my side.
“You are leaving my house tonight.”
“What?!” Her eyes widened.
“I know the baby isn’t mine,” I scoffed.
“I heard you on the phone at the hospital and I know you’ve been working with someone to ruin my company.”
She opened her mouth to talk, tears already forming in her eyes.
“Don’t,” I warned.
“If you don’t want me to arrest you this instant, go and pack your things now.”
“Alex, please,” she whispered, her voice breaking.
“The video isn’t what you think and the baby…”
“Isn’t mine,” I finished her words.
“Even if it were, I will never keep you in my house after that.”
She started crying seriously, but that didn’t move me.
The only thing that was stopping me from getting her arrested was her pregnancy.
While she stood there crying, I walked into the room and helped her carry her bags to the door.
Then I escorted her to the doorway, not because of anything, but to make sure she actually left.
She turned to me one last time.
“Alex, please. Can I at least leave in the morning?”
“If you stay here for more than a minute, I will call the police.”
“You are making a mistake, Alex,” she said, voice shaking.
“Leave, Cassandra!”
She loaded her bags into the trunk of her car, slipped behind the wheel, and drove off.
I stood in the doorway and watched the taillights disappear down the streets.
For the first time in months, the house felt empty in the right way.
Now, I needed to make sure my company was safe.
CASSANDRA’S POV
I parked right in front of Marcus’s house and offloaded my trunk.
My bags felt heavier than they should have or maybe it was the weight of everything crashing down on me.
I had nowhere else to go.
Alex had thrown me out and there was no way I could go back to his mother. My so-called alliance with her had been severed the moment they knew the child wasn’t theirs.
The only person left was Marcus.
I dragged my suitcase to the entrance and knocked on the door.
There was no answer at first.
I knocked again, harder this time.
Finally, the door opened.
And to my surprise, a tall, elegant woman stood in the doorway, wearing one of Marcus’s robes. Her hair was rough and her lips were slightly swollen.
She looked at me from head to toe with mild curiosity as if I were a delivery that had arrived at the wrong time.
“Who are you?” she said softly.
Before I could answer, Marcus appeared behind her, his shirt unbuttoned and his hair messy. His eyes widened when he saw me, but the surprise quickly turned to irritation.
“What the hell are you doing here?” he said coldly.
The woman raised an eyebrow and turned to face Marcus.
“I will wait inside,” she whispered and walked into his room.
I stepped closer to him, my voice trembling.
“What… what is that woman doing here?”
“Before we get to that… Alex threw me out. He knows everything. He also knows the baby isn’t his.”
Marcus’s jaw tightened.
“Leave. We will sort this out later,” he said.
“No, Marcus. Don’t push me away. I did everything you asked. I risked everything for you. You can’t just throw your child and me out on the street. You promised us a better life.”
He stared at me for a long while and let out a short bitter laugh.
“You really believed that?” he replied.
“The baby changes nothing. You were a pawn, Cassandra and you still couldn’t do the simplest part right,” he sneered.
Tears clouded my eyes.
“You said you would marry me, Marcus. You said we would be together,” I reached for him desperately.
He yanked my hand off and shifted back.
“You were never going to be my wife. You were just beautiful enough to seduce Alex and desperate enough to do the dirty work. That’s all.”
I felt my knees weaken.
“You lied to me,” I whispered.
“Welcome to the real world,” he let out an evil smile.
“Now, leave. I have company.”
With that, he started to close the door.
“Marcus, please…” I pleaded as I grabbed the frame.
He removed my fingers and shut the door in my face.
I stood there on the porch, shaking as tears rolled down my cheeks.
Everything had been a lie.
The promises, the future he painted, all of it.
I had risked my all for a man who saw me as nothing but a tool.
I dragged my bags back to my car with numb hands and trembling legs.
Then I went a to the nearest hotel.
I cried until there was nothing left, until my eyes were becoming blurry.
As I drove past this house, anger replaced the heartbreak.
He had thrown me out like trash and that moment, I made a silent vow:
Marcus Reed didn’t know, but he had just made the biggest mistake of his life.
I would destroy him, even if it were the last thing I would do.